Two Views on Tai Chi

There are two ways that I view taijiquan. One is comprised of the various forms and styles that are practiced as Tai Chi today, such as Yang style, Chen style, Wu style, etc. Included among these are some writings like “Yang’s Ten Points” or other descriptions of Tai Chi movements which serve as guidelines in practicing these forms.

The second and IMO more meaningful way to look at Tai Chi is a philosophical paradigm for practicing and categorizing martial arts as a whole. This framework is know as the 13 postures. Each of the 13 postures are what librarians might call metadata in that they describe general ways of moving in a martial arts context. I will talk about this more later, but the point is that martial artists of different styles can use the 13 postures as a way to further develop their training without actually having to learn a Tai Chi form.